Perpetual Ltd Sells 5,669 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Perpetual Ltd lowered its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 62.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,378 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 5,669 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 262.1% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $143.36 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $148.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.23. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $111.64 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $47.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.